


alongside the christmas tree

by 24hourprince



Series: riverside [1]
Category: Hunt Down The Freeman (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Special, M/M, river monster au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/24hourprince/pseuds/24hourprince
Summary: short fun crristmas chapters about mitchell's younger brother visiting and having to deal with mitch's two boyfriend, one who happens to be a river monster.
Relationships: mitchell shephard/adam (hdtf)/nick (hdtf)
Series: riverside [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071863
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Winter was something new this year.  
Mitch wasn't expecting on more or less dying, or being brought back to full heath in one night by some metahuman being who likes to nap under his dock. Or become friends with said being, or falling in love with both him and his own roommate and long time friend, Adam. Or inviting Nick to stay the winter in the house they share.  
I guess what can you expect now a days. Well Mitch knows of 2 thing if he really thinks about it.  
1: His little brother is an annoying shit.  
And  
2\. He's always late.  
Mitchell lays across the couch, tv playing some movie he's watching a few dozen times already. Only thing on tv that wasn't another fucking children's Christmas movie. A man is asleep on his chest, only his dark hair poking out from under the blanket. chest rising and falling from his slow deep breaths. Sun staring to set on Christmas Eve Eve (Or Christmas Adam, if Adam was to be believed)  
The front door slams open, followed by the shout of "Guess who's here! Dipshit!" As Adrian enters the house. Finally.  
"Shhhh! Stop being so fucking loud, he's trying to sleep." Mitch glares bullets at his younger brother.  
"Oh come on I know Adam can sleep through anyth-"  
"Oh hey Adrian," Adam interrupts, walking out from the laundry room Basket of clean sheets for the spare bedroom in his hands. "How's the trip? Weather alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah the weather was fine..." Adrian says, brushing off Adam. "Wait so, that's not Adam. Is it."  
"Nope." Mitch replied, forcefully popping the p.  
The form under the blanket russles around before poking his head out from under the blanket, placing a kiss on Mitchell's neck before yawning, sharp rows of thin teeth fully on display.  
"What time is it?" He says asking Mitch before seeing the guest. "Oh, you must be Adrain? I'm Nick." He waves slightly, his webbed hand barely poking out from the blanker.  
Adrian pointedly Ignores Nick's whole… Situation. Instead focussing on more pressing manners.  
"So... I fuckin lost the bet." Adrian looks downtrodden.  
"That silly little bet with Cement? Well… Yes. but also No." Adam says, passing by, placing a kiss on both Mitch and Nick's cheek. Before finishing setting up the spare bedroom.  
"God Fucking Damnit! I'm calling Cement." Adrian says walking to the kitchen.

"Hi sweetheart! Yeah, yeah I just got there, I had a safe trip. I miss you heaps, too" Adrian talks into his phone, voice sicklingly sweet before drastically changing tones. "You are gonna believe this shit. Huh? Yeah! We both did. Yeah no, I don't get either, wait? Did you accidentally go to speaker phone? No… Dear, it's the orange button, there you go. Yeah I don't know what we are going to do either…"  
Adrian finally takes his call to the laundry room.

"What was the bet?" Nick asks, tilting his head to look at Mitch better.  
Mitch huffs a sigh before beginning. "You fucking know how when we first met Adam and I were just roommates right?" Nick nods. "Well Adrian and his long time boyfriend, Cement, they make a shitty fucking bet on whether I would date Adam, or someone else first. And well you know how that whet. 'M not really sure what the prize was. But I think I'm the real winner in the end."


	2. Chapter 2

"Your boyfriend really does sleep a lot huh?" Adrian says, placing the shepherds pie in the oven. A comfort food sample for the brothers. The dish that they stole their last name from, distancing themselves from their parents.  
"It is winter. He's usually like, fucking hibernating or something right now." Mitch replies with a shrug, filling a pot with water to boil the pasta for the mac and cheese.  
"What the fuck are you even talking about, it doesn't even snow here." Adrian adds, placing the oven mitts back on the hook. "Adam, back me up here! You're the one with that hoity toity degree."  
Adam doesn't look up from the cake he is methodically piping frosting onto. "Hundreds of manatees die every year because the water temperature drops below 70 degrees fahrenheit before they can get to warmer waters, Adrian. Water doesn't have to be freezing to be dangerous. Just cool. And the water temperature, last time I checked, about 3 hours ago, was 57 degrees fahrenheit."  
"Know-it-all." Adrian huffs."Hey! Why isn't Nick making anything? Huh?" Adrian adds, taking a sip from his mug.  
"I don't know, but you seem to be fucking enjoying the mulled cider, and the eggnog, and those jam filled Christmas cookies you've been stuffing your mouth with. Alongside those chocolate croissants you fucking devoured for breakfast like a hungry dog." Mitchell says, stealing the cookie Adrian was about to eat.   
"Wait, you didn't like buy that shit. I thought you got it from that fancy ass farmer's market you always go to on the weekends. Nick made them?" Adrian takes another sip of his drink. "Don't fuck up this relationship Mitch, and if you do, get him to teach Cement how to make these cookies first."

There is moment of silence while everyone continues making dinner.

Mitchell's expression gets serious, but fond, for a moment "I'm glad you are taking this well. Nick means a lot to me... to both of us. Glad you aren't fucking, I don't know trying to kill him, or like douse him in holy water or some bs. It means a lot to me."   
Adrian looks blankly into his mug."You know Cement's family are like fishers right? He used to go on trips with his parents all the time as a teen. Once, he was goofing around and he tripped and he fell overboard, and his parents searched for hours. until they got a call from Cement. He wound up in a hospital 3 miles away without a single scratch on him. Cement described the person who saved him to me once. He made me promise not to make fun of him… Not to call him crazy." Adrian looks over to the couch. "I think it was Nick."   
Nick takes it as his cue to wake up. "Huh? What I do?" He says, blinking awake.  
"Nick, I have to ask you something?" Adrian asks.  
"Go for it." He replies with a yawn.  
"Did you ever save anyone a few towns over. About 10 years ago?" Adrian asks, words suddenly getting harder to speak.  
Nick thinks for a moment. "Yeah… Yeah! Some kid. Kept talking about like, bricks and shit. Talked about how roman concrete works so much better but apparently no one knows how it was made. Told him how and he lost his fucking mind"   
Adrian blinks a few times, then laughs, and signs a simple "Thank you", and busies himself finishing making dinner.


End file.
